Your Right to Know

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massive state budget crunch did not stop state Senate leaders from giving out significant raises to
many of their top caucus staff members, and that decision is making its way into the Issue 2
collective-bargaining debate.

Nineteen Senate staff members — 10 Republicans and nine Democrats — were given pay raises in
July ranging from 4 to 33 percent, retroactive to Jan. 1.

We Are Ohio, the coalition of Democrats and union supporters pushing to overturn Senate Bill 5
by urging a “no” vote on Issue 2, jumped on the raises, some of which were first publicized by
Plunderbund, a liberal blog.

“While claiming we all need to share in the sacrifices, politicians gave their staff members and
upper management big pay increases and bonuses,” We Are Ohio spokeswoman Melissa Fazekas said in a
written statement.

“The hypocrisy never seems to end with these guys.”

Niehaus said he had no problem with the timing of the raises, which were given shortly after
lawmakers passed a $55.8 billion two-year budget that cut funding to schools by $780 million, local
governments by $633 million, and most other state agencies by varying amounts.

Republicans are trying to save Senate Bill 5, a law that significantly weakens
collective-bargaining power for public workers, some of whom would have to pay more in
health-insurance and pension costs and could see smaller raises if the law is upheld.

“It’s never a bad time to do the right thing,” Niehaus said. “What I did with the pay increases
is consistent with what we advocate in Senate Bill 5, which is paying people for performance.”

Niehaus said he made sure the raises fit within the Senate’s budget, which is still at a level
comparable to 1997.

“What we’re asking in Senate Bill 5 is not so much for public employees to sacrifice but to pay
their fair share,” he said.

Leaders of House Republicans, who recaptured control in January, have not approved raises for
staff members this year, and there is no plan to do so, said Mike Dittoe, spokesman for House
Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina.

Niehaus said he decided to start an internal salary review in December 2010, after it was clear
he was going to become the next Senate president. He quickly lost two senior staff members, who
went to work for the secretary of state’s office, and he said others were being offered jobs in
Gov. John Kasich’s new administration.

“In this era of term limits ... I thought it was important to make sure we kept highly qualified
staff to deal with the difficult issues we would be facing,” Niehaus said.

Schuler now has the top staff salary, $138,507. Four others have salaries exceeding
$100,000.

No legislative aides — those who work in the offices of individual senators — were granted
raises. Each earns $29,500 to $32,800.

The base salary of a state legislator is $60,584, although most earn more though leadership
stipends. The Senate added a 5 percent pay cut for legislators to the budget bill in the spring,
but it was removed at the request of House leaders.

In the fight over Issue 2, Building a Better Ohio, the Republican group pushing for a “yes”
vote, launched its first statewide television ad yesterday. It features Toledo Mayor Mike Bell, a
former firefighter and fire chief, talking about why he supports the law.

Jason Mauk, spokesman for Building a Better Ohio, said: “We’re giving some very reasonable
cost-saving alternatives to these local communities so they can save jobs, balance budgets and
provide good services without constantly going back for more tax revenue.”

Mauk said the ad is not a direct response to We Are Ohio, whose first ad featured rank-and-file
firefighters calling for a “no” vote on Issue 2. “We believe (Bell) has a powerful, personal story,
and frankly has a lot of credibility having been on all sides of this debate,” he said.

Fazekas said the supporters of Issue 2 blame public workers “for the budget problems they
created by giving hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax breaks to their corporate campaign
contributors, while at the same time cutting funding to local communities for safety services.”